Samara LynnBuffalo AirStation Extreme AC 1750 Gigabit Dual Band Wireless RouterWith the AirStation Extreme AC1750 Gigabit Dual Band Wireless Router, Buffalo steps up its game: The router offers great new management software and good performance. There's a lot to love about this router, but frustrating remote access and mobile management keep it from perfection.

With the AirStation Extreme AC1750 Gigabit Dual Band Wireless Router, Buffalo steps up its game: The router offers great new management software and good performance. There's a lot to love about this router, but frustrating remote access and mobile management keep it from perfection.

Buffalo's newest 802.11ac router, the AirStation Extreme AC 1750 Gigabit Dual Band Wireless Router ($149, street) gave the impressive performance and range in testing I expected after reviewing the vendor's entry-level 802.11ac router, the AirStation AC1300/N900 Gigabit Dual Band Wireless Router WZR-D1800H. Best of all, a new management interface lends an elegance and simplicity to configuring the many features geared to both consumers and small businesses. The only blemishes are some niggling issues with remote access to connected storage and Buffalo's mobile site for router management.

Specs, Design, and Operating ModesBuffalo's latest dual-band router does not deviate much in design from the earlier WZR-D1800H, with one exception: the AOSS (AirStation One-Touch Secure System) button is red instead of silver.

On the inside, the AC1750 contains a Broadcom chipset and supports a theoretical 450 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and up to 1300 Mbps at 5 GHz.

Three LEDs on the front panel are arranged in a single column along with a Buffalo logo that lights up when the router is powered. The top-most LED represents wireless status, the middle is for WAN connection, and the bottom displays whether the device is operating as a router or not. The router can serve as a straight router, a bridge, or an access point. When set as a router, all three LEDs are lit. When set as a bridge, the third LED remains unlit.

On the rear panel are four Gigabit LAN ports, a Gigabit WAN port, a USB 2.0 port and USB 3.0 port, both for connecting external storage and printers.

The back panel has a few additional buttons I've not seen on too many other consumer wireless routers: There's a toggle switch to set the device as either a Wireless Bridge or an Access Point. Underneath the toggle is a push-button labeled "Mode." If the toggle switch is set to operate the AC 1750 as an access point, the Mode button will set the device as either a regular, everyday router, or as an access point, (meaning DHCP, NAT, and router functionality are disabled.)

Setting up the device in access point-only mode allows for adding a WLAN to an existing network. This is why Buffalo's latest router is also a good option for a small business looking for an affordable AP. Many consumer routers I've tested will let you set up the router as a bridge to extend an existing wireless network, but fewer offer the option to function in AP-only mode.

Buffalo ships the router pre-configured with an admin password and SSIDs for both bands already set up. This information is printed on the bottom of the router and on a narrow, plastic card that sits in a slot underneath. Essentially, you have the admin and wireless networks' default passphrases printed in two places, so you will want to change them during setup.

The AC 1750 also ships with mounting screws. The two mount holes are bored through a plastic strip on top of the device. It's quite honestly one of the flimsiest mounting setups I've seen on a router. Even the screws that ship with the device don't seem long enough to make a secure mount to a wall. Some mounting scenarios probably would require some modification in addition to the screws. Buffalo also ships two stands for operating the router horizontally or vertically. You will definitely want to use the stands for vertical operation as the device becomes quite unsteady with cables attached.

Buffalo AC 1750 SetupAs is the case with the newest wireless routers on the market, setting up the AC 1750 is virtually a no-brainer. A quick setup guide is including in the packaging. The guide instructs you on how to connect cables and use either a Windows or Mac client to connect to the router's default wireless network. It's then just a matter of opening a browser to the IP address of the router and configuring settings the way you want.

Buffalo AirStation Extreme AC 1750 Gigabit Dual Band Wireless Router

Bottom Line: With the AirStation Extreme AC1750 Gigabit Dual Band Wireless Router, Buffalo steps up its game: The router offers great new management software and good performance. There's a lot to love about this router, but frustrating remote access and mobile management keep it from perfection.

Samara Lynn has nearly twenty years experience in Information Technology; most recently as IT Director at a major New York City healthcare facility. She has a Bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College, several technology certifications, and she was a tech editor for the CRN Test Center.
With an extensive, hands-on background in deploying and managing Microsoft Windows infrastructures and networking, she was included in Black Enterprise's "20 Black Women in Tech You Need to Follow on Twitter," and received the 2013 Small Business Influencer Top 100 Champions...
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